By ANTHONY WITRADO
This was never, ever going to work. History, as much as a decade’s worth, told us that much.

The only people who believed hiring Bobby Valentine to head the Boston Red Sox was a good idea was ownership. Even some in the Sox’s front office had their reservations, but he was hired anyway last November.

Throughout the spring and summer, there have been numerous reports, some confirmed, about a split clubhouse and continuing dysfunction partly because of all the losing and a lot to do with Valentine.

Now, this: Yahoo! Sports reported Tuesday that 17 Red Sox players met with owner John Henry and CEO Larry Lucchino during an off-day in New York on July 27 to blast Valentine. The meeting was spurred by a text message sent to the owners by first baseman Adrian Gonzalez on behalf of several players.

According to the report, Gonzalez and second baseman Dustin Pedroia were the most vocal, and some players flat-out stated they did not want to play for Valentine.

Reports of a rebellious clubhouse, a possible mutiny and players expressing their dislike for Valentine first surfaced on July 31 in a New York Post report. A meeting wasn’t confirmed then, but it was hinted that players were going to or already had alerted ownership of their displeasure.

On Tuesday, Valentine basically played dumb to the whole thing.

“Wow. Is that what was said, really?” Valentine told a group of reporters in Baltimore. “That’s what Dustin and Adrian said? … I didn’t hear that.

“I’m not going to comment on any stories because I don’t know what issues you might be referring to. Adrian’s issues? Dustin and I had a talk about a meeting I had. I don’t know if that was (in) July.”

It is not a surprise Valentine was caught off guard by the report. Sources said Yahoo! purposely posted its story after the Red Sox clubhouse opened to the media so that team couldn’t meet about it.

The Red Sox hired Valentine after deciding not to bring back former manager Terry Francona, who was adored by some players and was something of a scapegoat after the team’s September collapse and The Boston Globe’s infamous chicken-and-beer report. Valentine, who hadn’t managed in the big leagues since 2002 and didn’t have a great reputation as a leader, was not a popular choice among pundits and some players who were viscerally loyal to Francona.

Valentine was not the first choice of first-year Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington. The hire was forced on him by Henry, Lucchino and co-owner Tom Werner, according to multiple sources last winter. That has proved to be accurate: Cherington and Valentine have consistently been on different pages when it comes to handling the team and individual players. Left fielder Carl Crawford’s “four-day plan” was the latest example of this: Valentine surprisingly announced that Crawford, who's coming off elbow surgery, would rest every fifth game. It was the first Crawford heard of the plan. Cherington later refuted it and the idea never took hold.

All season players have clashed with Valentine, who at times appears self-serving and shows hints of not having his players’ backs.

The incident that sparked Gonzalez’s text message to ownership was Valentine keeping starter Jon Lester, a respected teammate, in to allow 11 runs on 11 hits and four home runs in four innings on July 22. It was clear early that Lester didn’t have it that day, but Valentine left him out there. Players thought it was disrespectful to embarrass a veteran in that way. The bullpen had to cover only 6 2/3 innings over the previous three games, so it wasn’t worn down enough that players thought Lester needed to eat innings.

Long before that, Valentine criticized former third baseman Kevin Youkilis’ focus and dedication. That prompted Pedroia to come to Youkilis’ defense and say that publicly calling out team members isn’t how the Red Sox operate. Valentine also took a shot at Youkilis after he was traded to the Chicago White Sox, saying the player never got over Valentine’s comments and it was Youkilis’ choice to not let it blow over, which played a part in the trade.

There was also Valentine telling rookie third baseman Will Middlebrooks, “Nice inning, kid,” after a defensive miscue. That snippy comment infuriated some teammates, a source said. Valentine has admitted to the comment.

The Yahoo! report also said there is a text-message picture floating around with Valentine apparently sleeping face-down on his desk, Pedroia behind him with his thumbs up and a caption reading, “Our manager contemplating his lineup at 3:30 p.m.”

If that wasn’t enough to prove the clubhouse’s lack of respect for Valentine, there was a July 28 incident, a day after the meeting with ownership, when Francona, now an ESPN analyst, sat in the Sox clubhouse and chatted with several players, including Pedroia, for nearly an hour.

Several players believe Valentine is unfairly being blamed for this season when a number of players have performed well below expectations and injuries have hit the club hard. There is some validity in that: Guys like Pedroia, Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury and Josh Beckett have all underperformed and/or been hurt.

Still, the season has been a complete mess for the Red Sox, a team with heavy expectations but just a 57-59 record going into Tuesday. Valentine won’t be fired in-season because of the Yahoo! report or for any of the listed incidents. A little more than a week ago, Henry and Cherington stood behind Valentine and said he would remain the manager.

Valentine’s job security was an easy prediction even in spring training. To fire him would be an admission by ownership that letting Francona go and bringing in Valentine were the absolutely wrong choices.

Valentine should have never been hired. There was a reason he hadn’t managed a major league team since 2002 - he was not a liked leader. Rumors of him barely talking to coaches, his willingness to burn bridges with players and his relationships within the organization have all proven true again in his first managerial job since he left Japan as an icon.

The Red Sox likely have to live with this decision for about three more weeks, because Boston is on pace to miss the postseason for a third consecutive season.

After that, Henry, Lucchino and Werner will have to decide if they want to be stupidly stubborn and continue this fiasco, or swallow their pride and try to win again.